


Safe

by suhoneymod



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 16:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10880247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suhoneymod/pseuds/suhoneymod
Summary: Junmyeon has a good thing going on. And he would never do anything to endanger it.





	Safe

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the mods for being so understanding with the constant extensions… like yikes, I was super flaky and they were so gracious about it.
> 
> To readers: this runs concurrently to the Bendis and Bachalo run of Uncanny X-Men. You don’t need to read that, but it will complement the experience.
> 
> To the prompter: I took the prompt veeeerrryyyy loosely… mainly because Jean Grey is a pretty overpowered character, whose Phoenix powers were tied very closely to her identity. But she was initially just a telekinetic, so I think (?) I’m being faithful to the source material. Sorry in advance if this isn’t what you wanted.
> 
>  
> 
> (prompt #60)
> 
> by [littlestcandle](http://littlestcandle.livejournal.com/)

Junmyeon didn’t _mean_ to do it. It’s more reflexive than anything.

The thing is, Junmyeon has a good thing going on. Compared to other mutants, he’s relatively well-off. He’s heard horror stories of kids sprouting blue fur, or turning into giant bugs. Yeah, when he hears those stories, he feels really lucky that his powers are more of the useful-tool variety than the makes-it-impossible-for-you-to-fit-in-society kind.

(Because his powers are pretty useful. He’s a short guy, and more than once he’s used his telekinesis tto retrieve things from the upper shelves, or to lift heavy objects things that would be otherwise impossible for his tiny frame to lift.)

Yeah, his life is pretty good actually. He has a nice little coffee shop where he makes a nice little profit. And he doesn’t have to worry about the prejudice and persecution that other mutants are subjected to because, well, he can pretend that he isn’t one. Why invite problems into your life if you’re lucky enough not to have any to begin with? It’s a problem that has nothing to do with him, and he’s not about to try and insert himself into it.

Junmyeon has a good thing going on, which is why he would never do anything to endanger it.

Unfortunately, he isn’t always _thinking._

There’s a sign just outside his store that’s a tiny bit loose. Really, he’s always meant to get it fixed, but life keeps getting in the way, and as a result, it just never happens. So it was just a matter of time really, and he was just unlucky enough that it decided to dislodge itself just as a customer comes walking by underneath it.

His first thought, quite tellingly, is _oh no, a lawsuit!_

Junmyeon doesn’t think; he just acts. He lunges forward, hands outstretched. That itself is an impotent action because he’s indoors (after locking up, even!) and several meters away from where the scene is unfolding itself.

But his mind is another matter. His mind is more than capable of stopping this from happening, and because he isn’t _thinking_ , it does exactly that. Just about an inch before the sign hits the stranger on the head (and Junmyeon can already imagine what kind of awful sound that guy’s poor skull would make as it splits open,) he manages to halt its trajectory with his mind.

He freezes, and curses himself for his stupidity.

The stranger, having a pair of working eyes and not being as blind as a bat, had already flinched in preparation for impact. So, when that impact never comes, the tall stranger opens an eye to see the sign hovering about an inch over his face. Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes track from the object floating midair, to Junmyeon’s comically outstretched arm, and back.

To Junmyeon’s horror, the stranger’s face runs the gamut of expressions, from incredulity to a shocked realization.

And then Junmyeon is terrified. He knows that he may have just ruined his own life. If that kid—and it’s just a kid, really, Junmyeon would recognize that high school uniform anywhere—espouses any kind of anti-mutant sentiment, then he can consider his sorry ass reported, and can kiss his cute little store goodbye.

He drops his arm—allowing the sign to fall harmlessly to the floor—and then flees up the stairs, to his apartment above the shop.

-

Junmyeon considers not opening the shop the next day. He really does. But the matter of the fact is, groceries don’t pay for themselves, and he kind of needs money to go on living. So, begrudgingly, he opens the store for business regardless of his personal feelings on the matter.

Of course, because life hates him, tall guy does come in.

(Around three p.m. as well—when school let out. When all else fails, you can always trust on high school students to be predictable.)

 

Perhaps because he’s resigned himself to it, Junmyeon does not flee this time around. Instead, he merely regards tall guy with apprehensive eyes. Whatever this guy wants, Junmyeon will probably have to pay. His beautifully crafted comfortable life will be threatened if his secret is exposed; he imagines all the business he will lose and winces.

“Welcome to Junmyeon’s café,” he says dully. “What can I do for you today?”

To his surprise, tall guy doesn’t immediately cut to the chase with extortion. As a matter of fact, he takes some time to peruse the menu.

Up close, Junmyeon is able to note a number of things about tall guy that he hadn’t been able to do so earlier. He’s got a pretty decent face—a little angry looking, especially those eyebrows, and the chin is kind of prominent. Still, there’s something about the weird combination that is a little attractive.

“Um,” tall guy says, “Can I have a zebra mocha?”

Nodding, Junmyeon gets to work on the order. “A zebra mocha, coming right up.”

The already uncomplicated drink is absolutely child’s play for someone of his caliber, and he’s able to whip up the zebra mocha within a couple of minutes. He takes his time with it though; who knows if this is the last time he gets to make coffee. If this kid ends up reporting him to the authorities, then he’s going to lose business for sure.

Unfortunately, there’s only so long that someone can stretch out the process of assembling a zebra mocha. “Here’s the drink you ordered,” he says, mouth pressed into a thin line. “That will be three dollars and seventy-five cents.”

Here’s where it happens—Junmyeon is sure of it. Instead of paying for the zebra mocha, tall guy will demand to have it given to him for free. After that, the demands will escalate, until Junmyeon is to broken to comply any further, and the kid reports him to the authorities anyway.

But that doesn’t happen; his expectation is totally subverted. Instead of setting an extortion plan into place, tall guy takes out his wallet and begins to fish through it to find the necessary amount of cash to pay for his drink.

“Um,” tall guy says after he’s paid. “Can I… can I talk to you?”

Junmyeon stiffens. Here it is. He can’t say that he hasn’t been expecting it. “About what?” he inquires.

Tall guy seems almost embarrassed, scratching his head and grinning sheepishly. “About what happened yesterday.”

“What happened yesterday?” Junmyeon tries to feign ignorance.

That elicits a frown from the tall guy. “When you saved me from the falling sign,” he says. “Are you… are you a mutant, by any chance?” Seeing Junmyeon’s expression, the guy totally blanches. “Oh, I don’t mean that in a bad way!” he assures furiously. “I’m a mutant myself.” As if to demonstrate, he snaps his fingers, and then suddenly there’s a flame holding steady above his fingers.

Junmyeon considers feigning ignorance. He really does. Life would be so much easier if he could just pretend that he was a normal human, that he doesn’t know what tall guy is talking about, that tall guy must be on drugs or _something_ to be insinuating what he’s insinuating.

But there’s something about this guy. He’s awkward and naïve and unguarded, and despite himself, Junmyeon can’t help but feel the stirrings of pity deep within. He thinks he can understand how tall guy feels—once upon the time, he was the same: a newfound mutant, all alone in the world and scared.

Sighing, he pulls off his apron, balling it up and then leaving it on the counter.

“Alright,” he says.

-

Awkward tall guy’s name, as Junmyeon learns, is Yifan.His assessment of Yifan’s character is pretty much spot on. Behind that fierce looking face is an innocent and naïve softie, whose views of the world are laughably sheltered. It’s almost precious, and Junmyeon would have found it adorable if it wasn’t such a dangerous one to espouse.

“No.” Junmyeon said, crossing his arms. “Humans are always going to be afraid of us. If you can, you should just keep your powers a secret.”

“They’re only afraid of us because they don’t understand us,” Yifan argues. “Look at the X-Men. Everyone loves them!”

Junmyeon looks at Yifan as though he were crazy. “People hate the X-Men; have you not been watching the news?”

But Yifan is stubborn. “It wasn’t always this way. People used to love them.”

And that makes Junmyeon pause for a moment. Because it’s true—people used to love the X-Men. He can remember his childhood, when mutants were considered heroes and arbiters of justice. He remembers how the newspapers would herald their victories to the world, and how enthusiastically the world had responded.

But times changed. The X-Men are not what they used to be—after the Phoenix Five debacle, trust in the X-Men was at a low ebb. In addition to that, new and dirty facts about the esteemed professor keep coming to light. The X-Men were a subject of scorn and derision.

“Public opinion is fickle,” Junmyeon says at last. “You’re better off not having to depend on the goodwill of others.”

-

Yifan quickly becomes a common fixture at the shop.

Junmyeon doesn’t mind, really. It’s almost like having an assistant. With Yifan around, he doesn’t need to depend on his powers to retrieve things from high shelves, or to lift heavy objects. It’s a bit of a relief, especially since his telekinesis hasn’t been as reliable as he would like.

As to the reason why, that’s still very much something he doesn’t want to think too hard about.

“Grab me the bag of coffee beans on the second shelf from the right,” Junmyeon orders.

Yifan complies, reaching up and easily plucking the bag off of the shelf.

“Don’t you ever get tired of living like this?” He asks as he hands the bag of ground coffee beans to Junmyeon.

Sardonically, Junmyeon raises an eyebrow. “Do I get tired of living a financially secure life where I don’t have to constantly be on the run from anti-mutant terrorists like William Stryker?” He pretends to think about it. “Let me see… No. No I don’t.”

Leaning against the counter, Yifan scowls. “You know what I mean. Don’t you ever get tired of being forced to hide who you are?”

And it’s not like Junmyeon’s never thought about how great it would be if he could live freely. In an ideal world, in a world that wasn’t afraid of mutants, he thinks he would probably be happier. Not necessarily because he’d be able to use his powers, but because he wouldn’t have to be on guard all the time. 

“I haven’t thought about it,” he lies. “I’m pretty content with how my life is right now.”

Yifan looks disappointed, but he doesn’t say anything else.

-

“How did you tell your parents?”

Junmyeon looks up, meeting Yifan’s eyes. “How did I tell my parents what?” he asks, raising a challenging eyebrow. He’s kind of being a dick; he knows exactly what the kid means, he just doesn’t really want to give an answer.

Yifan flushes under the scrutiny. “You… you know what I mean,” he says. “How did you tell your parents that you were…”

Grinning, Junmyeon tilts his head. “That I was gay?”

“No! That you were a… you know… a mutant.”

He’d known all along that this was Yifan’s angle, but he’d been trying to evade the question. Nevertheless, he takes pity on the kid; he’d worked up the nerve to ask the question, so Junmyeon supposed that he deserved a proper answer.

“I didn’t,” Junmyeon says, looking away. “I didn’t want to take the chance.”

He thinks back to his life then. He had been dependent on his parents, and on the off chance that they’d been anti-mutant, he’d have been out of a home real quick. But beyond that, Junmyeon just hadn’t wanted to face the disappointment. Just coming out as gay had caused a huge rift to form between him and his family—one that had never really healed. He didn’t want to imagine what sort of damage coming out as a mutant would do.

Nothing is said for a while, but when Junmyeon finally looks up and meets Yifan’s eyes once more, he thinks that perhaps he sees pity.

-

“Did you see the news?” Yifan asks him excitedly.

Junmyeon frowns as he carefully pours the cream into the pitcher, careful not to raise his eyes from the task at hand. “I did,” he answers after a long pause. He knows exactly what news the other is talking about. When he saw Cyclops on his television screen, he had immediately been able to guess exactly what was going to happen. And he wasn’t disappointed: there had been a call to arms, one that was neither subtle nor reassuring.

Yifan seems to take note of his reaction. Frowning, he crosses his arms. “You don’t seem very excited,” he says accusingly.

“That’s because I’m not,” Junmyeon answers.

“There’s a mutant _revolution_ happening,” Yifan argues. “This could mean big things for us as a people. Things are happening. Times are changing.”

“I heard just as well as you did,” Junmyeon says levelly, keeping his eyes averted. “But words like _revolution_ are only buzzwords. They don’t mean change is coming. They don’t mean anything other than that Cyclops wants change to come.”

Finally daring to raise his eyes, he sees that his words have incensed Yifan. “That’s because you don’t want to do anything about it,” he fumes. “You’re just happy living in this little bubble. You have to _work_ to make change happen, you just can’t wait for it on the sideline.”

“The only change that’s going to happen is that the X-Men are going to fuck up, and the anti-mutant sentiment will grow stronger than ever,” Junmyeon snaps. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this pattern, but I have. Everything that the X-Men touch turns into shit.”

And he stills, because he hadn’t meant to be so harsh. But the damage is done, and Yifan looks as though he’s seeing Junmyeon for the first time.

Without another word, he turns on his heel, and leaves Junmyeon behind in the coffee shop.

And Junmyeon… doesn’t follow. Because he has a good thing going on, and he would never do anything to endanger it.


End file.
